As part of the bilateral cooperation between Guatemala and the United States and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime structures in the region, This Thursday, June 4, General Francis L. Donovan, commander of the Southern Command, arrived in the country.
According to what has been learned, General Donovan’s visit to Guatemala is aimed at continue coordination with Government and Army authorities in the fight against drug trafficking structures that operate on the northern and southern borders of the country.
The information about Francis L. Donovan’s visit to Guatemala was broadcast on the official X account of the United States Southern Command.
“#SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan is in #Guatemala to meet with senior government leaders and discuss strengthening the bilateral security partnership and collaborative efforts to combat cartels and narco-terrorists. Guatemala is a member of the Coalition of the Americas Against Cartels, whose vital contributions have dealt a significant blow to narco-terrorist networks in the region,” the publication states.
In the communication shared by the Southern Command It is detailed that Guatemala is a member of the “Coalition of the Americas Against Cartels”, headed by the United States and made up of 12 other countries on the continent.
The head of the Southern Command will meet with President Bernardo Arévalo and the Minister of Defense, Henry Sáenz, to address aspects related to the military cooperation that the United States will provide to the country in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime structures that are dedicated to smuggling and human trafficking.
International media such as The New York Times and The Country have reported the interest of the United States in Guatemala becoming a territory to develop joint operations. The Government of Guatemala has denied this possibility and assures that it has requested cooperation to combat drug trafficking in terms of training, equipment and other supplies. but it has ruled out operations by US troops from Guatemalan territory.
The United States has sought to strengthen alliances with several Latin American countries to launch attacks against transnational drug trafficking structures in the region. To date, there have been more than 40 attacks against alleged drug vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Who is Francis L. Donovan?
Francis L. Donovan is a United States Marine Corps general in charge of United States Southern Command, the military command responsible for that country’s operations and security cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Coalition of the Americas against Cartels (in English, Americas Counter Cartel Coalition —ACCC—) is an initiative promoted by the United States Government in 2026, within the framework of the so-called “Shield of the Americas”, to coordinate countries on the continent in the fight against transnational criminal organizations, especially drug trafficking cartels, through military cooperation, intelligence exchange and joint operations.
At the end of May Donovan visited Venezuela where he met with authorities from that country and with members of the Twenty-Second Marine Expeditionary Unit, who are deployed at the US embassy in that country.